Ultrasonic diagnostic scanning for three dimensional display

Abstract

An ultrasonic diagnostic system and scanning technique are described for producing three dimensional ultrasonic image displays utilizing power Doppler signal information. In a preferred embodiment the power Doppler signal information is displayed in the absence of structural (B mode) information to reduce image clutter and provide three dimensional image segmentation. An ultrasonic scanning technique is presented for acquiring diagnostic three dimensional ultrasonic images of power Doppler intensity through manual hand scanning of a patient, without the need for specially fabricated scanning mechanisms or devices.

What is claimed is: 
     
       1. A method for producing three dimensional ultrasonic images of the interior of a body comprising the steps of: transmitting ultrasonic waves over a volumetric region of the interior of the body;   receiving ultrasonic Doppler information signals from spatial locations within said region;   processing said ultrasonic Doppler information signals to determine the Doppler power intensity received from said locations within said region; and   displaying said Doppler power intensity on a spatial basis in a three dimensional presentation.   
     
     
       2. The method of claim 1, wherein said step of processing comprises the step of processing said ultrasonic Doppler information signals to determine the maximum Doppler power intensity received from said locations within said region; and wherein said step of displaying comprises the step of displaying said maximum Doppler power intensity of said locations on a spatial basis in a three dimensional presentation.   
     
     
       3. The method of claim 2, wherein said step of transmitting comprises the step of transmitting ultrasonic waves over a series of planar regions of a volumetric region of the interior of the body; and wherein said step of receiving comprises the step of receiving ultrasonic Doppler information signals from spatial locations within said planar regions.   
     
     
       4. The method of claim 3, wherein said step of processing comprises the step of processing said ultrasonic Doppler information signals in spatially related image planes to determine the Doppler power intensity received from said locations within each of said image planes; and wherein the step of displaying comprises the step of concurrently displaying said Doppler power intensity of a plurality of said image planes on a spatial basis in a three dimensional presentation.   
     
     
       5. The method of claim 4, further comprising the step of identifying the maximum Doppler power intensity at each point in a combination of said spatially related image planes; and wherein the step of displaying comprises the step of displaying said identified maximum Doppler power intensities on a spatial basis in a three dimensional display.   
     
     
       6. The method of claim 1, wherein said step of displaying comprises the step of displaying said Doppler power intensity on a spatial basis in the absence of structural echo information signals in a three dimensional presentation. 
     
     
       7. .[.The method of claim 1,.]. .Iadd.A method for producing three dimensional ultrasonic images of the interior of a body comprising the steps of: transmitting ultrasonic waves over a volumetric region of the interior of the body;   receiving ultrasonic Doppler information signals from spatial locations within said region;   processing said ultrasonic Doppler information signals to determine the Doppler power intensity received from said locations within said region; and   displaying said Doppler power intensity on a spatial basis in a three dimensional presentation, .Iaddend.   further comprising the step of providing said transmitting and receiving steps by manually moving an ultrasonic transducer probe which is in contact with said body.   
     
     
       8. An ultrasonic diagnostic imaging system which is capable of providing three dimensional presentations of the interior of a body comprising: an ultrasonic transducer probe for transmitting ultrasonic waves over a volumetric region of the interior of the body and for receiving ultrasonic Doppler information signals returned from spatial locations within said region;   a power Doppler processor responsive to said ultrasonic Doppler information signals for producing Doppler power intensity signals corresponding to said locations within said region;   an image processor for processing said Doppler power intensity signals for display in a three dimensional image presentation; and   a display coupled to said image processor which displays said three dimensional image presentation.   
     
     
       9. The ultrasonic diagnostic imaging system of claim 8, wherein said image processor comprises means responsive to said Doppler power intensity signals for producing a maximum Doppler power intensity image of said region. 
     
     
       10. The ultrasonic diagnostic imaging system of claim 9, wherein said ultrasonic transducer probe comprises means for transmitting ultrasonic waves over a series of image planes of a volumetric region of the interior of the body and for receiving ultrasonic Doppler information signals returned from spatial locations within said image planes of said region. 
     
     
       11. The ultrasonic diagnostic imaging system of claim 10, wherein said image processor further comprises means for processing said Doppler power intensity signals in spatially related image planes to determine the Doppler power intensity corresponding to locations within each of said image planes; and wherein said display further comprises means for concurrently displaying said Doppler power intensity of a plurality of said image planes on a spatial basis in a three dimensional presentation.   
     
     
       12. The ultrasonic diagnostic imaging system of claim 11, further comprising a peak detector responsive to the Doppler power intensity determinations corresponding to locations within each of said image planes for identifying the maximum Doppler power intensity at points in a combination of a plurality of image planes; and wherein said display comprises means for displaying maximum Doppler power intensity images in the absence of concurrent display of tissue structure.   
     
     
       13. The ultrasonic diagnostic imaging system of claim 8, wherein said image processor further comprises means for processing said Doppler power intensity signals for display in the absence of tissue structure information signals in a three dimensional image presentation. 
     
     
       14. The ultrasonic diagnostic imaging system of claim 13, further comprising a peak detector responsive to said Doppler power intensity signals for identifying the maximum Doppler power intensity corresponding to said locations within said image planes. 
     
     
       15. The ultrasonic diagnostic imaging system of claim 14, wherein said ultrasonic transducer probe comprises a manual scanner which is manually moved in relation to said volumetric region to scan a sequence of spatially related image planes in said region. 
     
     
       16. An ultrasonic diagnostic imaging system which is capable of providing three dimensional presentations of a region of a body comprising: an ultrasonic transducer probe for transmitting ultrasonic waves over a sequence of image planes of said region of the body and for receiving ultrasonic Doppler information signals returned from spatial locations within said image planes while said probe is manually incremented positionally in relation to said region;   a power Doppler processor responsive to said ultrasonic Doppler information signals for estimating the Doppler power corresponding to said locations within said image planes;   an image processor for processing said Doppler power estimates to produce a maximum Doppler power image for display in a three dimensional image presentation in the absence of non Doppler signal information; and   a display responsive to the production of maximum Doppler power images which displays a sequence of said maximum Doppler power images in a three dimensional image presentation in the absence of a structural display of tissue.   
     
     
       17. The ultrasonic diagnostic imaging system of claim 16, wherein said image processor comprises means for accumulating said estimates of Doppler power of a plurality of said image planes to form a three dimensional display image of the maximum Doppler power intensity as seen by a viewer from a given viewing perspective. 
     
     
       18. The ultrasonic diagnostic imaging system of claim 17, further comprising an image sequence memory for storing said estimates of Doppler power in corresponding images and for storing a sequence maximum Doppler power images. .Iadd. 
     
     
       19.  A method for producing three dimensional ultrasonic images of the interior of a body comprising the steps of: transmitting ultrasonic waves over a volumetric region of the interior of the body;   receiving ultrasonic information signals due to motion or flow from spatial locations within said region;   processing said ultrasonic information signals to determine locations within said region where motion or flow is present; and   displaying said motion or flow on a spatial basis in a three dimensional presentation which does not distinguish the direction of said motion or flow. .Iaddend..Iadd.20. The method of claim 19, wherein said ultrasonic information signals comprise Doppler information signals. .Iaddend..Iadd.21. The method of claim 19 or 20, wherein said motion or flow is the motion or flow of blood, and wherein said spatial locations comprise the interior of blood vessels. .Iaddend..Iadd.22. A method for producing three dimensional ultrasonic images of the interior of a body comprising the steps of:   transmitting ultrasonic waves over a volumetric region of the interior of the body;   receiving ultrasonic Doppler information signals from spatial locations within said region;   processing said ultrasonic Doppler information signals to determine magnitude signals of motion or flow within said region; and   displaying, in response to said magnitude signals, locations of motion or flow within said region without regard to motion or flow directionality on   
     
     
        a spatial basis in a three dimensional presentation. .Iaddend..Iadd.23. The method of claim 22, wherein said displaying step displays said magnitude signals without directional polarity on a spatial basis in a three dimensional presentation. .Iaddend..Iadd.24. The method of claim 22 or 23, wherein said ultrasonic Doppler information signals result from the flow of blood within the body, and wherein said three dimensional presentation is ambiguous as to the direction of said flow of blood. .Iaddend..Iadd.25. A method for producing three dimensional ultrasonic images of the interior of a body comprising the steps of: transmitting ultrasonic waves over a volumetric region of the interior of the body;   receiving ultrasonic Doppler information signals due to changing directional motion or flow from spatial locations within said region;   processing said ultrasonic Doppler information signals to determine magnitude signals relating to spatial locations within said region where motion or flow is present; and   displaying the locations of said motion or flow on a spatial basis in a three dimensional presentation without regard to the direction of motion or flow. .Iaddend..Iadd.26. The method of claim 25, wherein the direction of said motion or flow may be represented by the sign or polarity of a Doppler signal,   wherein said three dimensional presentation is ambiguous as to said sign or polarity. .Iaddend..Iadd.27. The method of claim 25, wherein magnitude signals corresponding to different directions of motion or flow are   
     
     
        displayed on a common basis. .Iaddend..Iadd.28.  An ultrasonic diagnostic imaging system which is capable of providing three dimensional presentations of the interior of a body comprising: an ultrasonic transducer probe for transmitting ultrasonic waves over a volumetric region of the interior of the body and for receiving ultrasonic information signals returned from spatial locations within said region as the probe is free hand scanned over said region;   an image processor for processing said ultrasonic information signals for display in a three dimensional image presentation; and   a display coupled to said image processor which displays said three dimensional image presentation. .Iaddend..Iadd.29. An ultrasonic diagnostic imaging system which is capable of providing three dimensional presentations of the interior of a body comprising:   an ultrasonic transducer probe for free hand image plane scanning of a volumetric region of the interior of the body and for receiving ultrasonic information signals returned from spatial locations within said region during said free hand image plane scanning;   an image processor for processing said ultrasonic information signals for display in a three dimensional image presentation; and   a display coupled to said image processor which displays said three dimensional image presentation. .Iaddend..Iadd.30. The ultrasonic diagnostic imaging system of claim 29, wherein said image processor processes said ultrasonic information signals without quantification of interplane spacing. .Iaddend..Iadd.31. The ultrasonic diagnostic imaging system of claim 30, wherein said image processor is operated on the basis of uniform interplane spacing. .Iaddend..Iadd.32. The ultrasonic diagnostic imaging system of claim 29, wherein said probe provides said ultrasonic information signals to said image processor without position sensing of image planes. .Iaddend..Iadd.33. An ultrasonic diagnostic imaging system which is capable of providing three dimensional presentations of the interior of a body comprising:   an ultrasonic transducer probe which is free hand scanned to sweep transmitted ultrasonic waves over a volumetric region of the interior of the body and for receiving ultrasonic information signals returned from spatial locations within said region;   an image processor for processing said ultrasonic information signals for display in a three dimensional image presentation; and   a display coupled to said image processor which displays said three dimensional image presentation. .Iaddend..Iadd.34. The ultrasonic diagnostic imaging system of claim 28, 29, or 33, wherein said image processor further comprises a Doppler processor; and wherein said display displays the location of motion or flow in said region in a three dimensional image presentation. .Iaddend..Iadd.35. A method for producing three dimensional ultrasonic images of the interior of a body comprising the steps of:   transmitting ultrasonic waves over a volumetric region of the interior of the body;   receiving ultrasonic information signals due to motion or flow from spatial locations within said region;   processing said ultrasonic information signals to determine locations within said region where motion or flow is present, which does not distinguish the direction of motion or flow; and   displaying said motion or flow on a spatial basis in a three dimensional presentation in the absence of adjacent B mode structure. .Iaddend..Iadd.36. The method of claim 35, wherein said processing step comprises Doppler processing said ultrasonic information signals to determine locations within said region where motion or flow is present. .Iaddend..Iadd.37. An ultrasonic diagnostic imaging system which is capable of providing three dimensional presentations of the interior of a body comprising:   an ultrasonic transducer probe for transmitting ultrasonic waves over a volumetric region of the interior of the body and for receiving ultrasonic information signals returned from motion or flow at spatial locations within said region;   a signal processor for processing said ultrasonic information signals to determine locations within said region where motion or flow is present; and   a display coupled to signal processor for displaying said locations where motion or flow is present on a spatial basis in a three dimensional image presentation which does not distinguish the direction of said motion or   
     
     
        flow. .Iaddend..Iadd.38.  The ultrasonic diagnostic imaging system of claim 37, wherein said signal processor comprises a Doppler signal processor. .Iaddend..Iadd.39. The ultrasonic diagnostic imaging system of claim 38, wherein said motion or flow is bloodflow. .Iaddend..Iadd.40. An ultrasonic diagnostic imaging system which is capable of providing three dimensional presentations of the interior of a body comprising: an ultrasonic transducer probe for transmitting ultrasonic waves over a volumetric region of the interior of the body and for receiving Doppler information signals returned from motion or flow at spatial locations within said region;   a signal processor for Doppler processing said Doppler information signals to develop magnitude signals relating to locations within said region where motion or flow is present; and   a display responsive to said magnitude signals for displaying said locations where motion or flow is present on a spatial basis without regard to motion or flow directionality in a three dimensional image presentation. .Iaddend..Iadd.41. The ultrasonic diagnostic imaging system of claim 40, wherein said Doppler information signals are returned from flowing blood, and wherein said three dimensional image presentation is ambiguous as to the direction of said bloodflow. .Iaddend..Iadd.42. A method for producing three dimensional ultrasonic images of the interior of a body by free hand scanning with an ultrasound probe, comprising the steps of:   transmitting ultrasonic waves over a volumetric region of the interior of the body and receiving ultrasonic information signals from spatial locations within said region while free hand scanning said region with an ultrasound probe;   processing said ultrasonic information signals for display in a three dimensional image presentation; and   displaying a three dimensional presentation of said ultrasonic information signals. .Iaddend..Iadd.43. The method of claim 42, wherein said ultrasonic information signals comprise Doppler information signals; and wherein said processing step comprises Doppler processing said information signals. .Iaddend..Iadd.44. The method of claim 43, wherein said displaying step comprises displaying locations in said region where motion or flow is present in a three dimensional image presentation.   
     
     
        .Iaddend..Iadd.45.  A method for producing three dimensional ultrasonic images of the interior of a body by free hand scanning with an ultrasound probe, comprising the steps of: transmitting ultrasonic waves over a volumetric region of the interior of the body and receiving ultrasonic information signals from spatial locations within said region during free hand image plane scanning with an ultrasound probe;   processing said ultrasonic information signals for display in a three dimensional image presentation; and   displaying a three dimensional presentation of said ultrasonic information signals. .Iaddend..Iadd.46. The method of claim 45, wherein said processing step comprises processing ultrasonic planar image signals for display in a three dimensional image presentation without quantification of interplane spacing. .Iaddend..Iadd.47. The method of claim 45, wherein said processing step comprises processing ultrasonic planar image signals for display in a three dimensional image presentation on the basis of assumed uniform interplane spacing. .Iaddend..Iadd.48. The method of claim 45, wherein said manual image plane scanning is performed without position sensing of image planes. .Iaddend..Iadd.49. An ultrasonic diagnostic imaging system which is capable of providing three dimensional presentations of the interior of a body comprising:   an ultrasound probe which transmits ultrasonic waves over a volumetric region of the interior of the body and receives ultrasonic information signals due to motion or flow from spatial locations within said region;   a processor coupled to receive said ultrasonic information signals which determines locations within said region where motion or flow is present which does not distinguish the direction of motion or flow; and   a display for displaying locations where said motion or flow is present on a spatial basis in a three dimensional presentation in the absence of   
     
     
        adjacent B mode structure. .Iaddend..Iadd.50.  The ultrasonic diagnostic imaging system of claim 49, wherein said processor comprises a Doppler processor. .Iaddend.